Unconsciously
by Nilke
Summary: TM: Girl's side. Everything was working out well at the End of Year Play, everything was in its right place, until he said something he wouldn't have expected to say...


Notes: there may be a slight, yet big spoiler for Kei's ending, so if you are trying to get him, don't read!

_"Unconsciously" _

**-His point of view-**

"I couldn't have acted more stupidly than tonight..."

Kei Hazuki was sitting outside the school's chapel, thougtfully. He still wore the prince costume, what he was using when he said it...

"No! I won't let you leave me!"

His own phrase resounded in his head, torturing him. How could he say that? That was the question that seemed to have no answer... The words came out from his mouth by their own will, as well as grabbing his partner's arms. That wasn't in the script... nor supposed to happen. He couldn't understand how something that embarrassing like speaking part of his feelings out loud, in the middle of the school play and in front of the entire school, could happen to him. He was supposed to let her go, astonished, not to grab her from her arms and tell him those words. After all, Cinderella had to abandon the Castle if she didn't want everyone to see her in her distroyed dress...

He let go a bitter sigh, angry with himself. After he had realized what he had said (his partner's confused look was enough to make him aware that he said something out of the script, and out of the ordinary, for that matter), he blushed (he knew he did, and that he looked like a bright red tomato) and left the stage, running. It was too embarrassing. As he run outside the school's theatre, the audience's laughs could be heard... even from outside, as most of the school was watching the play. He kept on running, until he found himself outside the school's chapel. He didn't even think in returning to the play. Due to his mistake, and the embarrassment it brought to him, he forgot his lines... So returning to the stage was out of the question.

He also felt guilty, apart from embarrassed. They had practised hard with his partner and the rest of the cast. Everything was thorougly studied, everything was in its correct place, to make the play an amazing experience. Now, it turned out to be a comedy, rather than the recreation of the classic fairy tale.

"Now she'll think I'm a stupid...", he thought, annoyed. "Not only I ruin the play, but then I dissappear without even saying "I'm sorry"...", he went on thinking.

He liked the girl, he was sure about that, but he didn't want to tell her right away his feelings for her. He needed to know that she felt the same way towards him before telling her his true feelings... Until then, he would just be a friend, nothing more. He dominated himself some other times before, and he never felt like saying something he shouldn't. He just kept it for himself. He never thought he would spill it in the middle of a school act...

He closed his eyes, tired. He recalled the practices... he had her in his arms, they had danced the waltz uncountable times, he knew the script word for word since the very first day, and he never felt like shouting _that_ phrase out loud. But tonight... Tonight everything was different. Everything was in the right place, just as planned. The stage looked gorgeous, with that scenography made by the guys at the Arts Club. The costumes looked very proffesional, and the acting was also very good, product of all their sacrifice and practices. The play was going smoothly, just as planned.

Then... it happened. The dance scene, where he had to dance with her. Like in the previous days before the play, the dance was coming up well. She was smiling broadly, enjoying the moment. He was enjoying it too, only that he wasn't of those guys who kept on smiling all day. He could feel that the audience was enjoying it, too, but that didn't interested him at all. He had her in his arms, that was enough for him. The world reduced itself to that stage, where they were dancing, even if they were just performing a classic fairy tale. What he felt for her had to be something similar -if not the same- to what the prince would have felt in that moment. Everything was fine...

But every thing has an ending, and his dream had to end, too. The bells were ringing, telling Cinderella that it was time to leave. He had to let her go, under a surprised look. However... he didn't want to do that. He was feeling something new... the fear to loose the girl. He didn't want to let her go, he didn't want to loose her... He didn't want to see her in any of the other guys's arms, nor with everyone else, for that matter. At that moment he just wanted her to be with him...

He felt something around his chest, like something burning, a sudden pain that came when the bells started ringing. He knew he had to let her go, yet he couldn't...

And so, he said it... Unconsciously, the words went out of his lips, telling his truth... It hurt him, not being able to tell her how he really felt about her. But it hurt him more the only idea of loosing her... again. Because he had already lost her once, long ago...

"And I can't tell her my real feelings yet, because I don't know what she will say...", the dark blonde-haired youth said, hiding his head in his arms, while a lone tear slid across his left cheeck.

**-Her point of view-**

The play ended, right after the prince had run away, ashamed of his false step. She walked away from the stage, still confused. One of the other students went to the microphone and put an end to the play, saying that Cinderella and the Prince lived happily ever after... when he returned. The audience also enjoyed that joke to no end. The play ended up being a parody of Cinderella, accidentaly.

She now laughed at it, while getting her things ready to return home, where Tsukushi, her little brother, would tease her for some days. He was going to be a real pest... after all, he was her brother, and siblings always enjoy pestering each other, don't they?

However, her laugh wasn't a real one... She felt strange after that little episode. His behavior on the stage puzzled her. She couldn't deny that she did like that little "plot" twist (how could she not like something like that? She had to be too crazy to be angry with Kei now)... only that she wasn't expecting it! And not even in the middle of the play, in front of everyone. Now, Kei's fans would harrass her to no end...

She laughed at that thought, imagining herself being chased by a couple of angry, younger girls, because their ideal guy "liked" her. Well, he wouldn't have said that if he didn't like her, at least very little, she went on thinking, while brushing her hair, ready to leave.

"I won't let you leave me!"

His words echoed in her head. "He was too serious when he said that...", she thought, recalling Kei's face when he said that. "Could it be... that he really likes me?", she thought for herself, confused.

Strangely enough, her thoughts suddenly went straight to another memory... one of her childhood... "The legend of the Maiden"... the translation of that old, quite unknown German legend. She read about it with a boy, whose name she couldn't recall by any means... She've tried, but she couldn't remember that nice boy's name. After reading the legend, he told her that his family was moving to another place, and that he wouldn't see her anymore. But he promised her that he would find her and that they would be together...

Her heartbeating got faster as she thought about that... His parting was too sad for her at that time, and it still was, because she wouldn't remember that event if that boy didn't mean anything to her. Sometimes, she wanted to see him, talk to him, have him by her side...

And tonight... tonight was another strange day... She would have never expected Kei, a guy who was somewhat serious and reserved, to have some kind of feelings towards her and talking them out loud in front of the entire school. Even if it had been unconsciously.

She thought about the legend again, her mind going through some quick past and future trip. In the legend, the princess and the prince didn't want to be separated. Tonight, Kei didn't want her to leave, according the script. That meant that he wanted to be with her... It was an odd, strange coincidence...

"Then... could it be that Kei's the prince of my childhood?", she whispered softly, trembling.

But she didn't dare to ask him that. What if he wasn't? She would look like some fairy-tale-lover freak... considering her age, it would have been too embarrassing. She wasn't supposed to believe in that kind of things, at the verge of getting into University... But that promise still felt so present... as if it had happened yesterday...

"Oh, come on!", she told herself, annoyed. "That boy could be in some other city, or country, for that matter! He must have forgotten, after all these years. Boys don't waste their time thinking in girls from past years, it's not in their nature. He must have forgotten about me, and about that silly promise", she went on thinking, as if she had succesfully buried that memory.

But she knew that wouldn't work. That boy looked too sincere when he made his promise, as well as Kei tonight, when he told her not to leave him... Another coincidence...

She sighed, before picking her jacket and her things, ready to leave. She shook her head, as if she could make her thoughts disappear. Of course, she failed. She was still thinking if it was possible that Kei, and that little boy from her childhood were the same person. She needed to ask him, but she couldn't.

She picked her things and left, thinking that the world have to be too small for such a thing to happen...

The End

Notes: Alright... the oddest thing about this is that I have written a fanfic for a game I haven't even played (I don't know Japanese, nor I have a PS2, nor I own the game!). But after reading about Kei and that cut-scene in this site http/inocenta-sanctuary. (go to the Misc - Character Highlight section), the entire thing appeared in my head, and I just had to write it... I hope you liked it! I haven't given the heroine any name because I didn't know if she had a 'canon name', maybe she was given one in the drama CDs (I don't know if she interacts in them or if they are just about the boys), and I couldn't came by with a japanese name that I thought to be suitable for her. Ok, I didn't want to name her P

Oh, the spoiler was quite subtle, but it can ruin his ending, can't it? I could have gone further in that topic, but I decided not to...

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little fic. Please, tell me what do you think!


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